Thrift stores and consignments shops have begun to see an increase in people donating clothing and accessories around the United States, including in Central New York. Many thrift store owners attribute this increase to Netflix’s show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, which encourages people to get rid of objects and clothing they don’t need.
The owner of The Cluttered Closet, Kathleen O’Toole, has owned the shop in Westcott for 27 years. She has seen a little bit of an increase in donations since the beginning of the year. She had also heard people talk about needing to “minimalize.” O’Toole said this is another reason donations to her shop might be increasing.
“They need to minimalize and to get back to more basics,” O’Toole said. “They all use the same word so, I’m guessing it might be something on TV.”
Fashion Exchange, a consignment shop in Fayetteville, has also seen an increase in clothing donations and consignments. However, Carolyn Bertram, a retail sales assistant at Fashion Exchange, said she saw the increase start last year, rather than the beginning of this year.
“I don’t know if I have seen it since the beginning of the year, mainly because the weather has been so bad, but I would say through last year we certainly saw an uptake in consignments,” Bertram said.
Bertram also thinks TV shows about getting rid of things you don’t want are encouraging people to donate their excess belongings. Fashion Exchange has been getting a lot of donations, Bertram said.
“We don’t have trouble getting consignments,” Bertram said. “There is more clothes that people want to bring in than we can fit in here.”
Both O’Toole and Bertram said this TV show trend of minimalism and donating belongings you no longer need will continue in the future.
